The Forgotten
by Maxineride818
Summary: Max and her Flock weren't the only kids whose lives were corrupted by the School, but they were the first to fight back. This is the story of four kids who followed in their footsteps with a single goal in mind; to be free. (Updates whenever someone reminds me because I'm horrible at sticking to a schedule, gay characters of both genders)
1. Chapter 1

Pain. It's the first thing I can remember. All of my life has been spent in a dog crate, poked with needles at this laboratory from hell. The people, if that's what they are, experiment on kids from birth on up. They mutate them to see what happens when you mix animal genes with a human's genes. I was born here. I was one of the babies that got avian, or bird, DNA. I grew wings just like the rest of the kids. Just like the Flock. They are famous here. They are a group of six avian kids that managed to escape the lab two times already. It gives the rest of us hope. Last year my friends and I had made a break for it, and I was the only one who was left behind to save the others. I hope that one day I will escape and be reunited with them… but as of now, it's only a dream.

"Come on Adv3si45n. You're wanted in lab 10." I choke back a whimper. That lab is infamous. It's the one where they try to give us mutants extra abilities or kick-start the preprogramed ones to come out. My current ability is healing. The demons here have been dumping the sick kids in here so I will heal them, but I always fail. The white coat shoves me into the room as we approach, slamming the door shut behind me. I look around the bleached room. The only thing I ever see is the tinted window, through which the white-coats oversee the experiment. I watch the door open as they shove a boy in. He looks sickly, hardly able to stand. Then his legs give out. I grimace. I've seen enough of these cases to know what happens.

"Where is the pain?"

"Neck…" he chokes out before fainting. I roll him over and see his expiration date, trying to stave off a sob. We all come with a built in expiration date. Our genes start to unravel and we die. I focus as hard as I can on trying to heal him but am just overcome by sadness and fear. I can't do it; this kid would die just like all the others they threw in here. I would have to watch another death happen in front of me, the blood be on my hands. My hands begin to burn and I look down as they begin to glow a dull white, the flicker strengthening into a bright white that was laced with blue. His body is infected with the light, and I sway as an exhaustion I've never experienced before racks me. He groans and finally sits up several minutes later as the glow recedes, seeming to know when its duty was through. He looks shocked to be alive but when our eyes meet, we both recognize it for the curse it was. He was trapped here until more experiments finished him off. The weariness hit like a tidal wave and I faint.

When I wake up I am back in my cage. I slowly sit up and look around, hoping there were no scientists nearby. If there were they would probably subject me to another test. Then I hear one shout, "It's astounding! Adv3si45n completely sealed B54ieRG5's genes. It doesn't have any expiration date, and shouldn't have one again. We need more tests. Quick, go see if it's up yet!" I immediately lie back down, feinting sleep. When the white-coat comes over he yells to his partner, "It's still sleeping."

After they finally leave I pass the time by looking at the other experiments going on, planning another escape, when suddenly I hear white-coats rushing around. "They got them, the Lupine-hybrids got them!" She counts the cages. "Well most of them." I jerked my head over to the side. I saw that they where wheeling in two cages with passed out people in it. I whimper. "No…" It was my Flock.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know this one is short too, but trust me, longer chapters are on the horizon!**

Michelle lay beside me in a cage, and I try to reach out to her. It had been so long since I had seen any of my friends, but her absence had hurt the worst. "Michelle?"

She barely stirs, eyes cracking open to reveal a bruised face and broken lip. She sits up with a groan and we both begin tearing up. "Amanda?" She reaches her hand through the bars and I grip her hand tightly. She sends an overflow of emotion through the small link, unable to hold back her powers at the moment. I reach my hand to cup her face, healing the wounds as my hands burns, a little less this time. She looks a little surprised then immensely sad. "What did they do to you? Are you okay?" I hadn't established any powers when we planned the escape, so she could only guess what they had done in the absence.

"I'm fine, this was preprogrammed." I give a small smile, not mentioning the other experiments they had done. She sighs and I try to keep the knowledge from leaking over the empathy link she held open.

"Thank god."

"Where is Reid?"

"Safe" We both knew never to talk about anything they could use against us in here. It had been our downfall last time. I glance over as Sam begins to stir in his sleep. He sits up fast, obviously dazed and very worried.

"Michelle!"

"I'm over here! Amanda is too, she survived." Sam blinks hard and his vision comes into focus, causing a grin to spread.

"Oh thank god! We thought you were going to be killed after they caught you! What happened?" I restrain a wince and pull my hands away from Michelle so she doesn't try to find out.

"Nothing pretty, but I lived and I'm fine. What landed you two back in here? I thought you were never coming back once you got out." Michelle and Sam share a look at my deflection but Michelle pipes up.

"We came back to get you. We had a plan," she glances at the cameras, "and it failed." My mouth drops in shock before I close it with a snap.

"You seriously risked getting caught to come back for me?" The staid look in their eyes told me no lie. I focused on not tearing up like a little girl. "Thank you …" it came out as a whisper but they heard.


	3. Chapter 3

**As promised, longer chapters**

We couldn't talk much because of the cameras, but Michelle knew I was dying to know about what life on the outside was like. Every chance we could she would tap the hand I had shoved through the bars and send a snippet of something they had experienced (warm water, restaurants, the beach, the basics) before we pulled back to avoid a white coat getting suspicious. I began to doze off after a few hours, desperately needing rest. I'm snapped back to consciousness mere minutes after drifting off by the sound of squealing wheels, white coat chatter, and rabid growls. A clawed hand bangs on Sam's cage, making him jump.

"Up up, time to go birdies." The eraser growls out, snapping its jaw hungrily. A second wolf man flings Michelle's cage onto a cart, Sam's following soon after. "All good?" The eraser seeks approval from the white oat overseeing the pick up. I hold back a small noise, praying this wasn't leading to what I thought it did. She shakes her head.

"Go ahead and add that cage too, its going to a close enough place." The eraser complies, he and his buddy becoming impatient as I thud onto the trolley.

"Can we go now?" She nods, still not taking her head out of the clipboard it was buried in. They push the trolley down the hallway and towards the Yard. I could smell the blood from here. As we get close to the Yard the hallway splits, leading to two doors. One in the training portion of the Yard, where they take the bigger creatures to test their abilities, and the other was eraser target practice, where they released hopeless or disobedient things for erasers to have fun with. My cage picked up by an eraser and carried towards the training side while the trolley started off towards the eraser death grounds.

"No! Michelle! Sam!" I start screaming, not holding back any tears that sprang forth now. There was no way that after being reunited with my friends I was going to watch them go to their deaths. This couldn't be happening. The eraser carrying me slams my cage into a wall causing my head to crash into the bars. I taste blood in my mouth and was dazed into silence long enough to make it through the door. I could see Michelle and Sam through the wire fence that divided the sides as they were set down in the center.

"Amanda, don't look." Sam said, his voice carrying the mere yards that separated us. I was dragged out of my cage while a chain was placed on my ankle. White coat chatter buzzed around me but I could not focus on anything other than my friends; every drop of sweat that tore a track in the dirt coating their faces; the bars gleaming in the sun; the dust hanging in the air; the blood, bones, and flesh littering the dirt.

"Adv3si45n, pay attention." I received a sharp jolt right between my wings that paralyzed me for a few moments, causing me to fall to my knees in a silent scream. I stare at the grass as growling and yipping starts up, but everything feels numb and I can't move. I am hauled back to my feet where I manage to catch another small glimpse of Michelle and Sam poised bravely, trying to be fearless as the timers are set to release the cage doors for all the erasers. They would be trapped in their cage, waiting for their door to be torn off while death waited off to the side. I wanted to puke, and my stomach sure churned like it was going to oblige. I feel them chain my wing together so I don't try to fly and then they try to get me to start doing jumping jacks, but they end up shocking me again as the timers start counting down. The sky grows dark as if responding to the mood. Michelle glances up and starts grinning, Sam following lead. My neck was numb by now but the white coats had begun screaming and running for the building. I see a giant bird tear into a white coat from my limp position on the ground. Adrenaline kicks in and I manage to sit up. Someone lands among the flurry of feather and disables the timer, then picks the lock on the cage holding Michelle and Sam. Reid. He was so much taller than I remember but just as thin. I grin and pull myself up using the fence while the three begin running towards me.

"Amanda! I had calculated the chances of you surviving to be 1 to 194560! I thought you were going to be dead." He rushes, evaluating the chains through the fence. I could see the gears in his head turning as I struggle to understand everything through a haze.

"How did … hawks. Erasers. Failed. Dead. What." I knew that didn't make sense but I couldn't force out a sentence. Reid, Michelle and Sam close behind, flies over the fence. He starts picking the locks while Michelle tries to explain.

"We knew we would have to get inside to find you, so we had to be captured. Reid had the photographic and eidetic memory here so he planned out what would happen afterwards and figured that we would end up near your cage if you were alive, and then we would be taken outside. Honestly, you being brought outside was an unexpected surprise, so now we don't have to raid the building and deal with erasers." She was babbling slightly, she and Sam watching the door for any signs of retaliation. I managed to understand most of that, the effects of the electrocution wearing off. Reid finally makes a triumphant noise and I feel the ankle shackle click, releasing my foot. I let go of the fence and step forward, holding my weight. Reid quickly untangles the chain on my wings and begins running.

"We have to hurry, they could have erasers out here any second." As he said this I heard growling and stomping from inside the building, the few hawks that had made it indoors on white coats being killed off by erasers without their strength in numbers. Reid takes to the air closely followed by Sam. Michelle grabs my head and quickly bursts over the information on how to fly, giving me a raging headache, then starts running. I follow her and take to the air, copying her movements and adjusting to my wing type. Soon enough we are steadily rising, Michelle staying close to help me if I need it. We fly furiously for several minutes until the laboratory is a speck on the horizon, the giant birds beginning to follow. My lungs were heaving and my muscles sore from the strange new exercise but at least I learned endurance in that hellhole. After the panic fades we begin to look at each other then laugh. It starts slow then escalates to hysterical before topping off at euphoric. We made it out. We were free. We were free together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who left a review, it means a lot to me to see that people like my story.** **Especially CosmicKitten16, I had forgotten about this story but I finally finished the chapter tonight, so here's an early update. Thank you all!**

After another hour of flying, the adrenaline had long worn off and I was close to my limit. Sam is the first to notice when I begin dropping a few feet and he signals to Michelle and Reid that we needed to land. I was reluctant to make everyone stop, especially when my gut screamed to get as much distance between the laboratory and me as I could, but I had to yield when I felt ready to drop from the sky. I let Sam and Reid land first so I could see how this stuff went (Michelle neglected to teach me how to land in her 1 second tutorial) before precariously attempting it myself. I land, stumbling hard, but keep my balance long enough to run into a tree. I rub my head as I head back towards the clearing. Michelle had landed by now and we all take a few seconds to just enjoy the moment. Michelle breaks the reverie. "Holy crap, we did it." It may not have been the most eloquent thing, but no one could have said it better. We break out into wide grins before Sam suddenly pulls everyone into a group hug, jumping up and down with joy. I'm not going to lie; we all started crying, this had been our dream since we were fledglings. We stand there, crying and hugging without thought for what seemed like hours, just getting used to the idea that we were whole again. Soon enough Reid pulls back and his logical side kicks in.

"We need food, fire, and shelter. The temperature is going to drop harshly at night, and it's already sunset." We all pull together and nod.

"Michelle, Amanda, and I need clothes too. The School took ours." Sam adds. I tilt my head slightly at that name and Michelle sees.

"That's what we call the laboratory. Max and her flock started it." She says in a low voice. I nod with the new information and in agreement to everything else. In a louder tone she continues, "I'll take Amanda with me to go get clothes. Sam, you help Reid gather everything else and I can get you clothes, I remember your sizes." Everyone nods this time and we split off, Sam and Reid walking into the woods and Michelle and I towards the nearest town. A peaceful silence settles over us, but Michelle breaks it reluctantly. "Do you remember what I showed you?"

I think for a moment, recalling what I can, "Yes, I'm not sure I remember everything well though. It's more dreamlike than anything." Even though Michelle could send memories and thoughts over her empathy links, sometimes they only appear like dreams, making it hard to get much detailed information from them. She sighs, holding out her hand.

"Here, I'll give you a more detailed description of some everyday things so you aren't lost. There is a lot of stuff that we learned." I take her hand.

"I'm already lost." I grin and she snickers before she starts streaming over memories. I stumble, forgetting to move for a moment, before continuing in a dreamlike state as I go through memories of domestic life. Daily care, shopping, people; the basics to function in society flow through my mind. It wasn't exactly full memories but it was enough to help me understand the world I had been released into. After a while I blink, resurfacing from the slideshow.

"Better?" Michelle looks curious to see if I retained any information. Her shared memories were always hard to hold onto; that was the one downside to her power.

"Much. I didn't know so many things could even exist … Internet, phones, houses … I really didn't think people could be so free and cared for. Did you guys get a house?" I really wanted to stay in a house. They looked amazing: clean, warm, safe. A haven all our own.

Michelle sighs and shakes her head, "No, we haven't been able to find as safe one. Rental cabins have been easy to find though in the off seasons, and they are similar. I'll ask Sam if he can find one for us to stop off in. It's much better than sleeping on the forest floor, that's for sure!" She was right back to grinning, and despite our new on-the-run status, I couldn't help but smile back. She was just infectious. "Oh, we're here. Follow my lead and be quiet." She lets go of my hand and I feel a small jolt; I hadn't noticed we were still holding hands. She flares her wings and takes off silently, swathed in the newly fallen darkness like a bird of prey. She smoothly lands on the roof of some superstore and turns, waiting for me. I pause. There was no way I could do this without getting both of us caught. Michelle notices my hesitation and gives me a dual thumbs up with her infectious grin. I take a small breath and hesitantly open my wings, pushing down hard and gaining air. I quickly loose said air. I slam back onto the ground, containing a yelp of pain as my knees are jolted around in their sockets. Michelle winces for me, but I take t the air again, this time flapping rapidly just to stay airborne. I flew nothing like Michelle, haphazardly darting through the air and almost falling on her as I try to land. However, we both ended up on the roof. I grin childishly. Bam, that's how to use the stealth. Michelle snorts then creeps to a skylight, wiggling the rusty nails out of place and opening it. I peer down into the darkness and watch as she jumps in, flaring her wings to land silently. Again, impossible standards. I huff but close my eyes and jump, immediately flaring my wings in panic. I knock over a shelf and get a small bruise on the tip of my right wing, but it wasn't too bad. Michelle was already heading for the back, having spotted the security room. I guess she was going after the security tapes and alarm. I leave her to it, drifting towards the clothing isle. My jaw drops. I had never seen such a selection of clothes before. My wax paper hospital gown suddenly felt all the more revealing. I blush. I had seen people wearing clothes in the memories, but it didn't really hit me until now. Reid was the only one really dressed. I take a deep breath to try and get rid of the embarrassment. There is nothing I can do about the past, so I can't worry about it. I walk over to the jeans, really enjoying the idea of something to cover my legs while flying instead of having everything revealed in the breeze. Michelle reappears beside me and hand me a package of underwear. "You're going to want one of these on first." I flush even worse.

"Ah, thanks." She notices my newfound embarrassment and laughs softly.

"Don't be ashamed, we've known each other from birth. I'm just excited to be getting out of this gown. Do you need help with sizing?" I look at all of the cloths again and notice all differences in length and width.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great." She chuckles, then helps me find pants that fit and several generic T-shirts. I grab a dozen of the pants that fit, all the shirts that I could grab, a few jackets, and tons of underwear. The socks and panties were easy, but the bras took a bit longer to find. While I was getting clothes, Michelle had already grabbed four bags and gotten Reid, Sam, and herself their normal outfits and new shoes. She comes back over as I finish getting dressed, handing me my bag and a pair of shoes. I roll up my new clothes, shoving them inside the bag as I put on the shoes. I trail Michelle while she shops for the essentials next: canned foods (evenly distributed), can opener, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, soaps, bandages, a sewing kit, medication, bottled waters (as many as we could fit), water purifiers, water bottles, knives (we pre-cut wing holes in the clothes after we wrestle it out of the packaging), and any other oddity that popped into Michelle's head, like sleeping bags and blankets. Finally we were ready to leave. She takes each bag to the roof one by one, flying through the skylight with one hard flap before taking the last bag up and landing there to wait on me. The sky was beginning to grow grey and I knew we didn't have long to get out of here before we lost the cover of darkness, not to mention my growing anxiety from being separated from Reid and Sam for so long. I flap hard, barley gripping the edge of the skylight before my momentum is lost. I haul myself through the skylight with some help from Michelle, then we both grab a pack and fly for the woods. For some reason, every avian mutant seemed to have an internal GPS that guided them to whatever they thought of. Using this, it wasn't hard to re-find our landing site. I land after Michelle, a roaring fire greeting us.

Reid jumps up from beside the fire when he sees us land, "Michelle, Amanda! You guys took forever; don't make us worry like that!" Sam materializes from the shadows with a pile of sticks then grins. Top notch timing right there.

"Yes! Clothing has arrived!" Sam drops the sticks a little ways from the fire and Michelle tosses him his pack. He catches it midair and unzips it, rummaging for his clothes as he heads back into the woods to change. Michelle hands Reid his pack and he takes off the sleeping bag, unrolling it and setting his bag down at the top to use for a pillow.

"I cooked the last of our previous rations, they should be done by now." Reid gestures towards the fire, sticks jammed into the ground at a gentle angle. Hot dogs were hanging off them, slowly roasting in the heat from the flames.

"Mm, I was starving! Thanks Reid." She snatches a stick, unrolling her sleeping bag beside Reid with one hand as she tries to eat the hotdog gingerly with the other, occasionally yelping when it burns her tongue. I snicker and unroll my sleeping bag on the other side of Reid, Sam emerging from the woods and putting his down on the other side of me.

"So, did Michelle catch you up on how things are out here?" Sam pipes up, grabbing his own hotdog. Reid grabs the other two, handing me one as he sits on his sleeping bag. The rest of us follow suit as the sky grows lighter.

"Yeah, it was pretty shocking but also amazing."

Michelle cuts in, jumping up a little as she remembers, "Oh yeah! Sam, can you find us a rental cabin to crash in, Amanda wants to see one. She's pretty excited by the idea of a home too." Reid and Sam chuckle. It looks like I wasn't the only one who has been hoping for a house.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do. It's been a while since we've slept anywhere besides caves or the forest floor, huh. For now, let's focus on getting some sleep, I know I'm tired as hell."

I nod, "Me too. Today's been so exciting, I can hardly keep my eyes open now!" Michelle laughs, which kick starts the rest of us. After finishing off the hotdogs and some light banter, we each settle into our sleeping bags and scoot closer to each other, thrilling in the knowledge that we were together again. I've never slept better than that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry for never updating on time! I get so distracted with school that I honestly forget this exists sometimes. Huge thank you to CosmicKitten16, I'd never finish this without you poking me in the butt XD**

When the sun is high in the sky and beginning its arch towards the horizon, I wake up to one of my wings smooshed in my face and dripping with drool. I jerk my head back with a disguised noise and wriggle out of my sleeping back, picking my wings gingerly from the cocoon of fabric before rolling it up neatly and tying it to my pack. Nobody else was awake. Michelle slept silently, Sam was snoring lightly, and Reid makes a small noise at my movement before falling back into dreamland. It looks like my internal clock was till set on laboratory mode: it was too late to still be sleeping. I walk over to the fire with a stretch and poke it curiously with a stick. Embers glow red and ash billows up towards my face. I step back and rub the grit out of my eyes, flicking my wings and sneering at the drying drool. I shuffle my wings a little then fold them under my shirt. I throw on a jacket to guard myself from the forest chill and grab my toiletries and a change of clothes. Going on a hunch, I close my eyes and turn to my internal GPS to lead me to some water. I was only mildly disappointed when my attempt leads me out of the woods and smack into a water fountain. I snicker, then flush as several passersby look over at me. I knew I had to look like a homeless person (which, let's be honest, I was) and the lack of muscle and fat from being trapped in the School only added to that image. I believe that idea is what saved me from anyone becoming too curious. They all turn away after a brief glance and I quickly dart back into the woods, glad it had been cold enough to make me put on a jacket. Well, at least my GPS idea worked. I just have to be more specific. I close my eyes again. The woods seem to pulse around me, the light from the sun settling on my shoulders as I feel into the heart of the earth. Every noise in the forest amplifies: the leaves shiver in the slight breeze, the rock creaks with lava pulsing like blood far beneath it, and the creatures of the world whisper. The forest seems to sigh. My eyes fly open, my heart racing in my chest. No. I couldn't do this. This is so wrong. I lean against a tree, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose as I force myself to calm down. That was beyond GPS, and everything about it felt off. My other hand grips the toiletries tightly and I lean against the tree until I feel the forest abruptly go silent. Whatever I had just done was gone now. I didn't try to bring it back.

I quickly rush forward, my distracted mind focusing on water and quickly bringing me to a smoothly flowing river. I clear my mind and focus on figuring out the soap bottles and remembering how to bathe. I strip, stepping into the icy water with a shiver. Soon I adjust and I quickly soak my wings, washing my body then working the soap through the water-resistant feathers.

I feel clean in no time and after a vigorous rinse I get out and dry off with a flick of my wings. I quickly wrestle the clothes and get dressed, gathering everything up again and heading for camp. When I reach the clearing I see Reid holding Sam and murmuring in his ear. Sam looked distraught. His head is in his hands and he was just staring vacantly into the fire. Michelle was packing everyone's supplies while looking apprehensively around the clearing. I rush forward, drawing Reid and Michelle's attention. Sam doesn't look up.

"Amanda! Where were you? We were worried sick!" Michelle rushes forward and hugs me, relief flooding her face. Reid grins tightly then turns back to Sam.

"I went to wash up … What happened?" Michelle steps back and only then do I register her hug. She looked sad again.

"I just woke up and …" She takes my hand to simply show me.

"The sun shifts backwards in the sky and I see everything through Michelle's eyes. She was tending the fire, one hand idly using a twig to draw in the embers while the other brushed dark, curly hair out of her face and over her shoulder. Suddenly a cry pierces through the silence and she looks up sharply. Sam was upright in his sleeping bag and holding his head, eyes blankly staring at the ground. She leaps off the log and runs over. Reid sits up in his sleeping bag and struggles to get out of it while Michelle bends down next to a panicking Sam. "Sam! Sam what's wrong?!"

"His face is contorted and now he looks around wildly, "I can't hear them! I can't feel anything Michelle!" He grabs her shoulders, starting to tear up. His brown eyes glisten in the light and he looks fevered, panic setting and clouding his face and mind. He zones out, briefly in another world like a ghost trying to contact the living.

"What do you mean?" She tries to calm him down, talking low and calmly (and maybe with a slight tremble). He blinks and connects his eyes with hers again.

"The animals, they're gone! And the earth … I can't feel the earth!" Reid finally made his way over, hugging Sam from behind. Sam instantly stops talking and closes his eyes, leaning back against Reid while dissolving into tears. Reid begins quietly talking into his ear and Michelle stands, knowing Reid was the best person for Sam right now. She hesitates then beings to grab the sleeping bags. The scene fades.

I blink, readjusting to the sun in its current place in the sky then looking at Sam again. His face was dry now but I could see some red rings around his eyes. Oh Sam. Michelle looks away from the patch of dirt she had focused on and back to me. "We thought something may have happened to you. That the erasers had followed us and could nullify powers. I was scared…"

"I shake my head, "No, nothing like that. I haven't seen a single one so far. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left— "

She shakes her head and cuts me off, "No, you didn't know and you couldn't have helped. I'm just glad you're back now." She grins softly, her eyes still tinged with worry, then she turns and goes back to packing. I follow and help her by packing the rest of Sam's bag and putting away my old clothes and toiletries. Michelle and I put out the fire, Sam watching us pour the dirt on it for a moment before turning away, then grab our bags and hand the boys theirs. No matter how long we wanted to let Sam rest, we had to move. If erasers did this then there's no telling what else they could do and when they'll strike, and if they didn't then they could be here any minute. Even more pressing was if the erasers didn't do it, then who did? We take to the skies swiftly as the sun makes its way towards the other side of the world. We stay in front of the sun until we reach a high enough altitude to disappear into the atmosphere. We fly in silence from there, heading who knows where. All we knew is it was further away from the School.


End file.
